Bugs beware: we're gunning for your genes

THE environmental movement is often traced back to Silent Spring, the 1962 book in which Rachel Carson documented some of the harmful effects of pesticides on people and animals, and called for stricter controls. Half a century on, the book remains controversial but there is now no doubt that however useful pesticides are, they cause an immense amount of damage too.

Pesticide poisoning is a major health problem. Every year thousands of farm workers die of pesticide poisoning and millions more suffer severe effects, mainly in developing countries. A survey in Nicaragua last year concluded that 2 per cent of the country's adult population suffers pesticide poisoning annually. This kind of finding is not unusual.

Then there are the environmental effects. Many pesticides are toxic to a wide range of animals, and dose is often the only factor that ...

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